Custom vs. Customized Engagement Rings: Which Should You Propose With?

Amidst the exciting world of engagement rings, there’s a lot of options you’ve got to sift through to find that perfect engagement ring. The first step in your decision starts with the very process you want your ring to be created. Will you go way of the standard and customize the ring to fit your liking? Or perhaps the engagement ring needs to be custom designed so it checks off every design element you’re picturing in your mind. Either way, you may need to do a little research to figure out what’s best according to your terms. Here, we’ve laid out the guidelines of both custom vs. customized to assist you in weighing your choices.

(It’s a face off: do you choose to go custom made or customized for your engagement ring? We’ll give you 411 on both to help you decide).

Since engagement rings are the bread and butter of our business, we aren’t afraid to say you’ve come to the right place to learn all about the different approaches you can take to design your ring. You’re in for the grand explanation: the difference between custom and customized and which is better suited for your needs.

Custom vs. Customized Engagement Rings

(The Jacqueline: an example of an engagement ring made custom with yellow gold, a three 0.5 carat sized diamond centerpiece, and accent emeralds).

Custom Engagement Rings

What It Is: An original design that reflects your personality and style. A one time creation. It demonstrates a flair of creative energy that was intended for one special individual. The various, buildable elements of diamonds, gemstone, stone cut, metal, setting, band style, and engraving details equate to an infinite amount of possibilities.

What You Can Get: A custom engagement rings means it is made from scratch. Virtually whatever you envision for an engagement ring can be your’s.

Price: Custom engagement rings tend to be a bit more expensive because you are paying for high quality work that is never mass produced and brings in all the design elements that you love. When you work with us at Abby Sparks Jewelry, we do our part to show you engagement ring designs and stone options that stay within your budget so you can create a one-of-a-kind engagement ring without breaking the bank.

Customized Engagement Rings

What It Is: Apre-made selection. Think of it like a buffet for jewelry. With a selection of stones, metals, and design choices, you’re able to pick and choose the elements you want displayed on your ring.

What You Can Get: This option has a variety of different designs that can be birthed, yet still works within the limits of what the designer has available.

Quality: Generally mass produced and made overseas.

Price: Varies. Can be less expensive than custom due to it’s mass produced process. The price for each factor of customized design tend to be set and definitive, giving a better idea of what you’ll be spending right off the bat.

Who’s the Winner?

It’s a debate for the ages. Custom vs. customized engagement rings, whose side do you choose? The war is one that wages on, right up there with the most notorious of rivalries like Mayweather vs. Macgregor, Coke vs. Pepsi, and east coast rap vs. west coast rap. Ok, ok, maybe we’re getting a little extreme. Nonetheless, it’s important to make a distinction between the two and see which grooves best with you and your sweetheart.

The answer of which is better is all subjective. It’s up to you and what you think looks best, what fits your lifestyle and price point, and most importantly, what she’s going to love most. If she values creativity, design, and a sentimental engagement created just for her, it’s best to go custom. If her design is simple, she knows what she wants, and you value a quick process, customized is the way to go.

But, we’ve got to say, if you’re stuck between the two, you can’t go wrong with a custom designed engagement ring.

If you know anything about us at Abby Sparks Jewelry, you know for a fact that every engagement ring we craft is completely and 100% custom made. Every. Single. One. Again and again, our designs are one-of-a-kind, coming straight out of your imagination and molded right in front of your eyes. That’s a helluva lot different process than going customized with limited options you see at big box jewelers. We stand by the notion that custom made is the best way for engagement rings to be created.

Just think about it. Your love is something special: a story of its own filled with memories and momentous occasions that can’t be repeated. You can transform that love and emotion into something tangible. An engagement ring that’s custom embodies the spirit of your loved one entirely with all of the design elements they love.

How Custom It Can Get

Ever been shopping for an engagement ring that’s *almost* perfect, if only it weren’t missing the one or two certain design elements you’re looking for? Go custom and you’ll never be denied of your yearnings again!

(Left: TheJennifer, a 2.5 carat diamond center to behold. Center: The Corrie, a palladium ring with a midnight blue sapphire center stone. Right: The Janet, with heirloom diamond center and accented gemstones on a platinum band).

Just marvel at what can be accomplished.

Want the classic diamond ring? Let the Jennifer engagement ring inspire you. This sparkly solitaire fully encapsulates everything that Jennifer stands for since it was made with conflict free diamonds. So simple and traditional, yet executed with a higher purpose in mind.

Does she move to the beat of her own drum and would rather have an alternative engagement ring? A gemstone center could be the ticket, like that on the Corrie engagement ring. You can even take it the extra mile like Corrie’s fiancee did and had his love expressed with an engraving inside the band.

And let’s not forget about those heirloom stones that are sitting in your dresser drawer. Make it sentimental and integrate them onto a ring! Like Janet’s center diamond from her mother’s old pair of earrings, old can be made into new.

You get to be the creative genius and brew up a dazzling number. It’ll be something she’ll always treasure since it was made just for her and based on your love story. So, for an engagement ring that’s both gorgeous and meaningful, custom made is the route to undertake.

The Custom Design Process with Abby Sparks Jewelry

If you’re feeling like it’s either custom or nothing at all, you’re speaking our language. Get yourself a consultation scheduled with us, and we’ll guide you through our specialized custom design process. You’ll see just how easy 1-2-3 step process takes flight.

Design | In your initial consultation, we’ll map out all the details that you fantasize about for your dream engagement ring. We’ll sketch it out together and follow up a week later with the plans. From there we update your design with any adjustments you would like. Once the final sketch is complete, we’ll host a stone showing for you to pick from a collection of diamonds/gemstones.When you’re confident and satisfied with your engagement ring design, we can move onto the next step.

Production | To give you a 3 dimensional glance at your future engagement ring, we will either present your design in a wax model or CAD (computer aided design). If it’s nothing short of love, we take it into production. In 5-8 weeks, the glorious ring will soon be your’s.

Completion |The best part! All that innovative hard work has finally paid off. Now we hand the ring off to you and give you our best wishes on all your merry endeavors.

Need more clarity on how this unfolds? Go look at our page of Unique Jewelry to see it broken down, complemented with original pieces made for our clients.

Show Off Your Spark with Abby Sparks Jewelry

Look at it this way: since no two people are exactly alike, they shouldn’t have to sport the same engagement ring. That’s what custom design is here to solve! And now that you know you can hit us up at Abby Sparks Jewelry, let’s get started on your custom designed vision, shall we?

Call us 303.957.6502 or contact us online to schedule a time to meet in our conveniently located Lower Highlands showroom in Denver, CO. Out of area? We can still cook something up over phone or Skype. You won’t have to settle for bland customized jewelry.